Joseph T. Ball, Jr. was born Feb. 21, 1804 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother Mary Montgomery Drew of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was white while his father was Jamaican-born Joseph T. Ball, Sr who came to Massachusetts in 1790. The elder Ball founded a society to help … Read MoreJoseph T. Ball, Jr. (1804-1861)
Minnie M. Cox, the first black female postmaster, was born 1869 in Lexington, Mississippi, to former slaves William and Mary Geddings. After attending school in Lexington and Indianola, Mississippi, Geddings graduated from Fisk University at the age of nineteen. After graduation, she married Wayne W. … Read MoreMinnie M. Cox (1869-1933)
Pierre Caliste Landry, a former slave turned educator and minister, is noted as the first African American to be elected mayor of a town in the Unites States. Landry was born into slavery on April 19, 1841 on a sugar cane plantation in Ascension Parish, … Read MorePierre Caliste Landry (1841-1921)
When the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect January 1, 1863 African American soldiers in the Union Army had been fighting the Confederacy along the South Carolina coast for nearly a year. On January 1, these soldiers assembled with their families to celebrate. Their commander, Colonel … Read MoreJanuary 1, 1863: When New Year’s Day Meant Freedom
The First Congregational Church of Atlanta, Georgia, the largest Congregational church in the South, began as a “gathered church” on May 26, 1867. After being baptized, local formerly enslaved African Americans joined members of the mostly white congregation that met at the Storrs School Chapel. … Read MoreFirst Congregational Church, Atlanta, Georgia (1867- )
“Imagr Ownership: Public Domain” Jacob C. White Sr. was a leading entrepreneur in early black Philadelphia, a tireless opponent of slavery and racial discrimination, and one of the wealthiest men in Philadelphia during his lifetime. Born in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in March … Read MoreJacob Clement White Sr (1806–1872)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” According to stories handed down to his descendants, a seven year old boy from Kurdufan in what is now central Sudan, orphaned because his father was killed in a revolt against an Egyptian occupation force and his mother subsequently committed suicide, … Read MoreAugust A. Sabac el Cher (1836?–1885)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Sylvanus Smith, once described in a city directory as a “hog driver,” was a free black Brooklynite who promoted and protected racial equality, business ownership, and property development in the community of Weeksville, New York. Smith was one of the original … Read MoreSylvanus Smith (1831–1911)
Of the 167 enlisted black soldiers of the 25th Infantry discharged from the U.S. Army “without honor” by order of President Theodore Roosevelt after the shooting in Brownsville, Texas in 1906, Pvt. Dorsie Willis was the only to live long enough to see justice. According … Read MoreDorsie Willis (1886-1977)
“Image Courtesy of The Black Heritage Society of Washington” Dr. William Henry Calhoun, a prominent early 20th century Seattle, Washington physician, was born on December 29, 1890 in Jackson, Tennessee. Little is known about his parents or his childhood. Calhoun attended Meharry Medical School located … Read MoreWilliam Henry Calhoun (1890–1967)
